News

Members of the National Emergency Operations Centre participated in a Psychosocial Support Retreat on Thursday, 24th June, 2021. This retreat took place at the Miami International Seminary (MINTS) Study Centre, Arnos Vale.

The purpose of the retreat was to give the men and women who are at the helm of managing and coordinating the volcanic emergency an opportunity to slow down and focus a bit on their emotional, social, mental and spiritual needs, after working tirelessly over the past few months to manage the volcano emergency.

This Psychosocial Retreat is the first in a series of retreats which will be held with different groups of people who are working to manage the emergency such as the shelter management teams, the persons working at the NEMO’s Secretariat, Call Centre, the various warehouses and distribution hubs.

The retreat was facilitated by Dr. George Federicks, former Pastor of the Pentecostal Assembly of the West Indies and a MINTS Senior Lecturer and Counsellor. Pastor Dr. Walford Thompson, Senior Pastor of the Arnos Vale Covenant Assembly (AVCA) and Rev. Paul Duncan, Academic Dean of the Miami International Seminary also addressed the group and expressed their appreciation of all the workers involved in the volcano emergency response.

An on-going programme is already in place for psychosocial intervention for shelterees and other displaced persons living in private home arrangements and is supported by the counsellors from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Mobilisation, the Ministry of Education, MINTS and various churches.

Source: National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO)